


Like a Scherzo

by HansoldMySoul



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Enjoy!, M/M, Music school AU, also ive never written markhyuck before, and needed to be remedied immediatly, because i'm trash for anything about music, markhyuck, so this was born, specifically piano music, which is blasphemy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 13:36:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9327116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HansoldMySoul/pseuds/HansoldMySoul
Summary: To Mark, Lee Donghyuck is:- Rival- Dongsaeng- Friend?(Mark's never felt threatened by anyone when it comes to the piano but enter Lee Donghyuck, who unknowingly tears down everything he thought he knew and made it better.)





	

Mark's very first thought upon meeting Lee Donghyuck was that this was obviously his first time in a Private Academy, Even more so, an institution of the arts.

• 

Pyeongchang Multi Arts Academy was known as school for those who aspired to be the top musicians in the country, and due to its recently implemented foreign transfer program, the school was making a name for itself internationally as well. Pyeongchang was divided into two sections; The west side of campus solely housed the elites and those who’d paid their way into the program and it was those students who got priority when It came to practice spaces and rehearsal times. Students that boarded in that section wore their uniform white, a black Pyeongchang insignia displayed proudly on their breast pocket and most carried themselves with the knowledge that they were above their peers in the schools hierarchy. The East side of campus was for students who lacked experience or didn’t reach the cut off point for admissions into the core music department though it also housed students studying other elements of the arts such as acting, fashion or dance. Those students had a tendency to keep their heads down and try to stay out the way.

Mark, a first year in the High School division of the Western Campus, had been attending Pyeongchang since his preschool days. At the age of three he'd shown untutored promise on the piano with his ability to mimic simple tunes that he’d heard with no practice and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by anyone.

His mother had immediately enrolled him into the pre-gifted and talented division of Pyeongchang Arts and he’d only grown since then, flourishing even under the pressure of a title that he hadn’t even known the meaning of at the time. Now, 13 years later, he was the leading pianist in the high school division along with Jung Jaehyun, a third year who would be graduating at the end of the next semester who’d held the title long before Mark had graduated middle school.

The days had become a monotonous cycle of practice, rest and more practice... That was, until he showed up. 

•

Lee Donghyuck, an aspiring pianist who'd just recently discovered his talent for the instrument, transferred into the Middle School division of Pyeongchang Arts. 

At first, Mark hadn't felt the need to see him as a threat, after all, how could somebody that just started playing ever hope to surpass his skill level? It wasn’t something that even crossed his mind aside from the maybe ponder the overall absurdity of the notion.

He stopped thinking that way when the new kid came first in the intra-school Middle School Piano Concours, beating out the head of the division and Mark's childhood friend, Lee Jeno. 

However, even as Mark began to see him as a threat, the boy only ever smiled and offered a cordial nod of the head when they passed each other in the hallways. Jeno and Jaemin reported that the boy was always positive and mindful during lectures and would never hesitate to help other students that were struggling within the Piano major. 

Mark himself didn't make his own judgement until they met in the practice room after hours because of a scheduling mistake.

•

"You're not walking home again?" Jaemin sounded put out and Jeno frowned when Mark shook his head in agreement. "The High school Division concours are next week and Jaehyun Hyung has been staying every night to practice. If I don't work just as hard then I have no chance of taking first place. You know how my mother gets, she'd flip a lid if I didn't place highly." As much as they wanted him to join them back at the dorms, they had all met Mark's mother and agreed that she could be a bit overbearing when it came to competition.

"Okay, just make sure not to stay too late. Lack of sleep can just as easily lead to mistakes as lack of practice can," Yeri spoke from experience, having made a mistake during her last competition which had caused her Violin string to break mid-performance because of the strain she’d put on it through over practicing.

Mark only nodded his acknowledgement and waved to his friends before heading towards the building that held the practice rooms. He knew his limits very well and he’d surely only stay for an hour or two before heading back anyway.

Upon entering the spacious room, it was a matter of removing his sheets (Liszt: La Campanella; Saint Saëns: Danse Macabre and Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu) and then taking his seat at the baby grand that sat in the centre of the room. He would only stay for an hour before heading home, He did need the rest after all. 

The ivory keys felt like home under his fingers and it only took him a matter of minutes to fully lose himself in the music. He didn't even notice when the door creaked open and somebody entered the room, silent so as not to ruin his performance. The piano was second nature to Mark and when he played the closing notes of La Campanella, he finally sensed that he wasn't as alone in the room as he had been previously. 

Spinning around so fast that he almost fell off of the leather seat, Mark spotted Lee Donghyuck leaning against the far wall with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry for intruding, the booking sheet said that this room would be unoccupied after school hours and once I arrived I was rather entranced by your performance. You play on another level," the younger boy sounded awed and Mark naturally preened under the praise. 

"I've still got a long way to go, but loving the piano is a huge part of putting on a truly amazing performance." Donghuck's face lit up, glad that the older boy was actually talking to him and not berating him for interrupting valuable practice time or asking him to leave right away with an ushering hand towards the door.

"You're in the High school division right? So you're practicing for the concours?" It was an obvious question with an obvious answer, but Donghyuck didn't want their conversation to end just yet. 

"Yep! Hey, you placed first within the Middle School division right? Jeno told me that you played beautifully, would you mind playing for me? Although I'm technically called a Prodigy, my playing lacks expression and feeling. It's difficult to win by technicality alone." Mark was starting to like this boy, just as everyone had said, he was always smiling and seemed to look up to the older students a lot. The older boy figured there was quite a lot that he could learn from the bright younger student.  
Donghyuck nodded enthusiastically, taking a seat beside him and grinning cheekily before his fingers moved over the keys at an incredible speed. A playful rendition of Wieniawski's 'Scherzo Tarantelle' flowed from his fingertips and it was all Mark could do not to applaud because there was so much more feeling there than he could ever hope to accomplish himself.

The music was light and airy, suiting the bright and happy expression on Donghyuck’s face as he played. This was what it meant to be true pianist, this why Donghyuck was becoming recognised so fast within the academy and Mark might have been jealous if it didn’t feel like every negative emotion had been carried away by the infectious tune.

As soon as the younger bpy had finished playing, Mark turned to him with a smile of his own, the bubbly atmosphere brought about by the song seemingly catching.

"Thank you Donghyuck," the other boy seemed taken aback by the sudden gratitude, "for showing me what it's like to truly love the Piano."

Donghyuck glowed at the praise but shook his head. "Mark Hyung, you already love the Piano, that's what drew me to this room in the first place." 

Both of their words were sincere. This was to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (and rivalry) that would explode the minute Donghyuck joined the High school division.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this as a wip for literally months but never finished editing it so here it is! tbh I'm not really satisfied with it but I wanted to post it anyway because I love the idea.
> 
> (The school system is heavily inspired by the anime 'La Corda D'Oro - Primo Passo' as are the general idea of the uniforms.)  
> (For anyone wondering, yes I did write something very similar to this last year for Yoojung and Somi in the IOI archive, which is posted on my aff)
> 
> I highly recommend all the music mentioned in this fic! They're all beautiful pieces.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated! I love hearing what you thought when reading!
> 
> Find me on Twitter @HansoldMS_Twt !


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